Full Throttle

Well, should I start this weeks NASCAR Cesspool with THE STORY this week?

Nah, think I’ll skip it til later and start with a missing in action (MIA) report. What, you say, just what or who is MIA? Guess that proves my point doesn’t it?

When was the last time anyone issued complaints over Goodyear tires blowing chunks like overstuffed hot dog eating contestants? IT’s been a while and damn few I’d say. In fact so few the issue is generally off the table since the sanctioning body mandated the Goodyear’s minimum pressure be used. At Phoenix where the desert temperatures play havoc with tires only four right fronts blew out. Stanton Barrett’s and Michael Waltrip’s, who had two failures, suffered cuts that led to their eventual demise. Dale Jr’s right front was so badly mangled the tire rep Rick Heinrich couldn’t tell the cause. But Dale Jr. had a clue and said the tire was “in great shape as far as wear wise.” “I don’t know where the hole came from, or if we ran over something, or the sidewall or something like that,” he said.

As I said, the issue is now officially MIA. Isn’t it amazing what following the “directions on the label” does for ya?

Sorry Goodyear haters, you can move along now.

And any other entries in the Cesspool this week are also MIA. Time is short, all three Phoenix events ran relatively clean and everyone behaved themselves, save ONE!

As for THE STORY, I lied. I’m very tired of reading and writing about IT. But if you’re a glutton for punishment you can sate your sadistic ways here, or visit Trent’s place who surprisingly takes a neutral stance on the subject considering Busch will be his teammate in ‘06. George has an interesting piece that points out some interesting facts on the Maricopa County Sheriffs Dept. The Spotter has a link list of those commenting including my first post.

For my money the best post I’ve read is by Thomas Bowles for FrontStretch. If you’re interested in not only Busch’s current troubles but what may occur in his future and a definitive list of past indiscretion I highly recommend Bowles - Eye View: Busch’s Biggest Challenge Still Ahead of Him

This week is the finale in Fla, which should be free of drama as long as Smoke gets a top ten finish. The closest race is for the After Thought Grand Prix, Jeff Gordon leads McMurray by a slim margin and it should be a dogfight to the end.

UPDATE: Here is an interesting post on THE subject of the week (I’m so tired of it I won’t even write the name any longer), from Canada of all places: “Kurt Busch: one step away from meeting Sgt. Stedenko.”

UPDATE II: Some have opined Jack Roush acted out of retribution and created THE STORY. I would submit this is real retribution: Unveiling of Busch banner at Homestead canceled

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP)